General Gordon’s Star For The Siege Of Khartoum

 

The Mahdist War.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

General Gordon’s Star For The Siege Of Khartoum was an un-official British Empire campaign medal presented for service during the siege of Khartoum during the Mahdist War. It was 'instituted' in 1884 and awarded to a number of the defenders and occupants of the city during the siege of the same year.

 

Following the breakout of revolt the in Sudan, led by a Muslim reformer and self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad, General Gordon was sent to Khartoum with instructions to secure the evacuation of loyal soldiers and civilians, and depart with them. While he was able to reach the city, by February 1884, he found himself besieged within it and was forced to defend Khartoum for over 10 months whilst awaiting a relief column.

 

During the Siege, General Gordon designed this medal based on his own breast star (the Turkish Order of the Mejidieh) and instructed a city jeweller - named Bishara Abdel Molak - to cast the medal - which was done by pouring molten metal into a sand mould.

 

The purpose of the medal was two-fold. Firstly to boost the morale of the defenders of the city as it was awarded to mark particular acts of gallantry or service, and secondly, (as anyone was able to purchase them independently) to raise money to procure food for the poorer members of the Khartoum population.

 

To facilitate this, the medal was issued in three classes: 1. in silver-gilt to senior officers and were also sold to those who requested one, 2. in silver to junior officers, 3. In pewter to non-commissioned officers, men and civilians.

 

It was later reported that after the city was finally taken, at which point Gordon met his death, the owners of these stars became particular targets of the Mahdi's vengeance.

 

 

The medal is of a star design, approximately 80mm high and 54mm wide and was cast in either heavy silver-gilt, silver or pewter and a number (approximately 40) were gold plated silver.

 

The obverse of this medal is a seven-pointed star with points - in crescent form - between each. The centre is of two concentric circles, between which are three Arabic inscriptions.

 

The reverse is plain and concave.

 

The ribbon suspender is in the form of a ring which surmounts the medal to which is attached a Crescent and star ornament.

 

The originals stars were issued un-named but were numbered.

 

 

 

This medal was issued with various ribbons.

 

 

None were authorised for this medal.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- Gordon Of Khartoum.

- The Mahdist War.

- The Siege Of Khartoum.

 

Gordon Of Khartoum - Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB (28 January 1833 - 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator.

 

He saw action in the Crimean War as an officer in the British Army, for this service he was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the Government of France on 16 July 1856. But he made his military reputation in China, where he was placed in command of the 'Ever Victorious Army', a force of Chinese soldiers led by European officers.

 

In the early 1860s, Gordon and his men were instrumental in putting down the Taiping Rebellion, regularly defeating much larger forces. For these accomplishments, he was given the nickname 'Chinese' Gordon and honours from both the Emperor of China and the British.

 

He entered the service of the Khedive in 1873 (with British government approval) and later became the Governor-General of the Sudan, where he did much to suppress revolts and the slave trade. Exhausted, he resigned and returned to Europe in 1880.

 

A serious revolt then broke out in the Sudan, led by a Muslim reformer and self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad. Gordon was sent to Khartoum with instructions to secure the evacuation of loyal soldiers and civilians, and depart with them. After evacuating about 2,500 British civilians he retained a smaller group of soldiers and non-military men.

 

As an ardent Christian evangelist he was determined to stand up to the Mahdi, a Muslim. In the build up to battle, the two leaders corresponded, each attempting to convert the other to his faith, but neither would accede.

 

Besieged by the Mahdi's forces, Gordon organized a city-wide defence lasting almost a year that gained him the admiration of the British public, but not the government, which had not wished to become entrenched (as Gordon was instructed before setting out).

 

Only when public pressure to act had become too great did the government reluctantly send a relief force. It arrived two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here

 

The Mahdist War - The Mahdist War (also called the Mahdist Revolt) was a colonial war of the late 19th century. It was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese and the Egyptian and later British forces. It has also been called the Anglo-Sudan War or the Sudanese Mahdist Revolt.

 

The British have called their part in the conflict the Sudan Campaign. It was vividly described by Winston Churchill (who took part in its concluding stages) in 'The River War'.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Siege Of Khartoum - The Battle of Khartoum, Siege of Khartoum or Fall of Khartoum was the conquest of British-held Khartoum by the Mahdist forces led by Muhammad Ahmad.

 

Not wanting to be involved in the costly suppression of the rebellion led by Mahommed Ahmed, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ordered Egypt to abandon its administration of the Sudan in December 1883. The British government asked General Gordon, former Governor-General of Sudan, to go to Khartoum and aid in the evacuation of Egyptian soldiers, civilian employees and their families.

 

Travelling from London, General Gordon reached Khartoum on February 18, 1884. He immediately began sending women, children and wounded soldiers back to Egypt as the military situation deteriorated in the Sudan and the south of the country was in danger of being cut off from Egypt by the Islamic Mahdist army. Britain withdrew its troops from the Sudan until Khartoum was the last outpost remaining under British control.

 

Gordon differed with the British government's decision to abandon the Sudan. He thought that the Islamic revolt had to be crushed for fear that it might eventually overwhelm Egypt. He based this on the Mahdi’s claim of dominion over all Islamic lands. Defying orders from the British government to withdraw, General Gordon, leading a garrison of 6,000 men, began the defence of Khartoum.

 

On March 18, 1884, the Mahdist army laid siege to the city. The rebels stopped river traffic and cut the telegraph line to Cairo. Khartoum was cut off from resupply, which led to food shortages, but could still communicate with the outside world by using messengers. Under pressure from the public, in August 1884, the British government decided to reverse its policy and send a relief force to Khartoum.

 

However, before the relief force could get there, after a ten-month siege, the Mahdists finally broke into the city, the entire garrison of British and Egyptian soldiers (along with some Sudanese supporters) was killed.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.